Sousou no Frieren – Episode 14

Episode Synopsis:

Fern gets into a fight with Stark when he doesn’t have a birthday gift already bought for her. Sein gives her some advice which helps the two make-up. Later, the group travels with a merchant by caravan and gets captured by a bird monster. In the chaos, Frieren loses a ring Himmel gave to her and while searching for it, reflects on the the events leading up to her receiving it. This, in addition to the meaning behind the symbol on the ring gets her to contemplate the significance of this one particular item.

Review:

Whoa…it’s like the show heard me….

I understand that Fern is sheltered and had to mature much faster than the average person. This, in combination with the fact that cis-girls generally mature faster than cis-boys, and her pious nature leads her to butt heads with the “typical clueless dude” that is Stark.

Despite the paragraph above, honestly…Fern needs to learn to chill the hell out when it comes to Stark. I stick behind what I said in Episode 06. She’s just plain mean to him for no apparent reason, and I’m glad Frieren tells her she was in the wrong here.

I was concerned the blame for the fight would point back to Stark based on some language from Sein around former’s aloofness. Thankfully this isn’t the case and while he initiates the apology to Fern in their make-up scene, she actively apologizes in turn and admits she was too harsh. Just for the record, I do like Fern. I just think she needs to tone it down and it’d be nice if the show didn’t always paint Stark as incompetent.

This whole sequence is actually a setup for Fern to receive a bracelet from Stark that has a specific symbol on it. It’s a symbol that means eternal love and

*hard brake sound

Wait…can you hear that…?

Yes, that! There, in the figurative harbor! It’s the sound of a thousand ships setting sail!

Oi, I had a funny inkling they’d lean into some sort of romantic plot with Fern and Stark but this is significantly earlier than I’d imagined. I thought to myself that it might be a one off moment until I saw the rest of the episode. More on that later…

I had a thought while re-watching this episode for my review. While the Fern/Stark spat is the crux of this first part of the episode, the more powerful discussion in my opinion comes from the observing pair of Frieren/Sein. Sein remarks that misunderstandings are a “privilege of the youth” (episode name drop!). He then laments that he’s not as well adjusted grown-up, and Frieren comforts him with some head rubs.

This simple act harkens back to her own travels with Heiter, and I felt this beautiful little moment of understanding from Frieren wherein she knew the best way to emotionally take care of her new companion. In addition to that the whole idea of “pretending to be an ideal adult” sequence hit me really hard. I have the same kinds of feelings many a time, and it was like the show knew I needed to be told it was okay to be as I am; that it’s okay to praise myself for the little things here in the present.

Okay, so…back to where I was before we were rudely interrupted by shipping. Ahem, the symbol on the bracelet is the same one that is on a ring that Himmel gave to Frieren during their travels. As Frieren begins to reflect on it, the scene gives way to the group being violently hoisted into the air.

This sequence was excellent. In the same vein as Stark’s fight with the dragon, this action beat isn’t long but it is cool. It reminded me that we don’t need to be fighting demons in this world to be in danger at a the drop of a hat. Also, it’s timing was genuinely effective in initiating surprise because while watching this I just yelled, “Oh GEEZ!” out loud in shock.

Another nice thing it does is remind us that Frieren and Fern aren’t omnipotent. During some of the previous episodes it felt like those two are an unstoppable force. Nice to know that even they can be thrown for a loop (or a mid-air flight?) and have to rapidly figure their way out of things. I also appreciate that the answer to getting out of the caravan while up high isn’t simply “Jump outta the damn thing cause we don’t obey physics here”.

I want to take a minute to say that even though I accept that this world’s magic is soft, I desperately want to know more about it. During the sequence where the team is trying to figure out how to survive a fall if they kill the avian monster, Frieren explains that they can’t simply float the caravan. They’d need to know the distance from the ground to determine the right magic to use. Then, later on, the team has to manually fix canvas and cut wood to remake wagon wheels. It seems like we can’t just magic our want into creating what’s needed from the raw ingredients. So fascinating…

Ah, but now…what about that comment I made regarding the romantic plot inklings of Fern/Stark? The romantic angle of the meaning behind the bracelet is sledgehammered home when we see HOW Himmel gave Frieren the ring.

The cynical part of me is not totally sold on this plot point yet. Frieren barely comprehends companionship, so the idea that she has to at some point understand a concept as complex as love seems so far out of reach for now. I mean seriously…Frieren was just going to leave the ring in the middle of the forest if Fern hadn’t been adamant they stay to find it. Maybe she’ll grasp the idea of love in little bits as the show pushes Fern and Stark together? The mushy part of me thinks this one-sided love Himmel had was so damn adorable (and melancholy given their life spans), and I am curious if the idea of love will start playing a bigger part in the show moving forward.

Here at the midway point the show continues to look great and it hits quiet emotional chords as it weaves its narrative song. Speaking of song, the music in this episode is lovely. There’s a lot of little emotionally poignant piano and string melodies in here that really sell the heartfelt moments. Solid execution all around.

Summary:

There’s high flying action, head rubs, and romance! What more could you want?!?! Also because I couldn’t fit this anywhere else.

*stops the car again

*whips out binoculars and sets the magnification to 10X

Could it be…? I haven’t seen one in the wild for a while now…

Fern are you kinda…tsundere?! Is that the unmistakable cry of a hot/cold personality?

Oh my gosh that show is 26 years old. Brendan are you still having a crisis in the corner? I’m gonna come join you…

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